The Top Five Best Netflix Shows In The United Kingdom

2.9.2015 | 16:52

Hey, it’s not just the United States making waves when it comes to great series. Sure, they’ve got those superhero-grit series. They’re fun to watch. People you might ask would only tell you that Sherlock and Doctor Who are the only two good TV series to watch in the UK. That’s not true! We’ve got a host of other TV series that you might not have watched before, such as…

  1. Utopia

According to Wikipedia, Utopia is a British thriller drama action television series. I won’t go into detail with actors here, it’s the story that’s most important for any British series. The characters here have found a manuscript of an original cult graphic novel called The Utopia Experiments. While it sounds creepy and fascinating at the same time, I would’ve done the same thing the characters did, take it because it can predict the disasters of history. Now on the run from the people of The Network, they are at odds trying to escape both man and to stop disasters from happening.

  1. Skins

Teen drama is never too interesting. Comedy teen-drama, most people would barf. So what made Skins special? Well, for one, it’s unique because it replaces the primary cast every two years. A linear plot exists but for every episode is an issue and a main character. Skins became famous because it depicted the real life UK teens go through in their lives. Think bullying is overrated in the United States along with drug addiction and substance abuse? It happens everywhere.

  1. Misfits

Misfits is about as hilarious a dark comedy can get. If you had a gut feel humour watching the US’ Hannibal series, then you’re going to laugh a bit about the satire in this one. Picture this; you have a young group of offenders who are sentenced to work in a community service program. Then, an accident happens and voila, they have supernatural powers. It’s like Superman was imprisoned while he was still human but he was empowered by a freak accident to make him Superman from prison. Also, it’s like Breaking Bad, you’re dealing with supernatural crimes and you’re a group of felons.

  1. Merlin

Merlin originated from the United Kingdom so it’s only fitting we’re the only ones to do this kind of thing. Well, we know that the US imitated some dragons and powers and stuff, but that’s not too important at the moment. Merlin’s story as how he became King Arthur’s valiant friend and adviser as well as a warlock had never been explored in any stories, series or movies before. But now, he gets to tell his story, and you’ll be surprised about the scars he had borne both in his physical and mental battles. The fun thing was that the two hated each other during the start.

  1. The Office

If you wanted dark comedy and you wanted it to look in an office setting, look no further. Ricky Gervais and his crew are all going to make you smile. The fictitious paper company Wernham Hogg in Slough Trading Estate in England, the office headed by Brent and his team leader tries to gain some traction from their boring lives, where attempts go from bad to hilariously worse!

So, Who’s The UK Actors Making The World Revolve Everyday?

14.1.2015 | 16:49

It’s not an easy job to be an actor because to be a good one, you have to lie to yourself first before anyone ever believes that you’re really good at acting. It takes years of skill and practice to become the best actor or actress in the world.

In the world of UK gents acting in Hollywood and beyond, these guys are definitely legendary.

  1. Sir Ian McKellen

Sir Ian McKellen has brought pride to the United Kingdom being a world-renowned actor. He is well-known for his roles in The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy including the Hobbit and Magneto in X-Men films. He has been the recipient of six Laurence Olivier Awards, a Tony Award, a Golden Globe Award, two Academy Award Nominations, four BAFTA nominations and five Emmy Award Nominations. That makes for an impressive repertoire, considering Her Highness The Queen of England herself had knighted him.

  1. Anthony Hopkins

You might say it’s unfair that Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins should be considered on this list. The man had amazing training as an artist in the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama graduating in 1957. Since then, he has trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. He was first known as The Lion in Winter as Richad I, palying the role so convcingly. However, pop culture knows him very well as the original cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter, who he had played so visciously. He had received a BAFTA award for best actor, Emmy Awards for outstanding roles as lead actor in multiple films. It’ll take this entire article to list all of these so there!

  1. Sean Connery

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen wouldn’t be complete without the amazing voice and powerful charisma of Sean Connery. Originating from Scotland, he is well-known for his role as Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Starting from humble roots as a milkman in Edinburgh, he joined the royal navy but due to an ulcer, he had to leave. His acting career started when he got himself as an artist’s model. After a few more tenures in the King’s Tenure as a backstage hand, he became interesting to the crew because he had a navy background which was needed for the play. He then went to theatre and now to Hollywood

  1. Christopher Lee

Perhaps the legendary Christopher Lee is one of the most memorable characters in many historical films because of his sheer charisma and charm. He is best known as the earliest Dracula in film. But nobody knew he was formerly a soldier who fought in World War II with the Royal Air Force and became an intelligence officer shortly thereafter. He is known as the notorious Count Dooku in Star Wars films and the main villain Saruman in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

  1. Christian Bale

Nobody knows it but Christian Bale is English in origin. Known as many characters such as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho and millionaire/superhero Bruce Wayne in Christopher Nolan’s Batman, Christian Bale is less known as the main child lead in the historic film directed by Stephen Spielberg Empire of the Sun.

Bale is known to willingly undertake massive physical transformations to gain roles in films, which involve being physically fit (Batman), being fat (American Hustle) and being so thin he’s barely recognizable (The Machinist).

Five Things That Will Make Any Series Interesting

2.6.2014 | 16:47

Not to sound like an opinion piece here, but I’ve seen plenty of material in TV that could have worked if only it had a chance to get a proper execution. Any series can be interesting, but sometimes, it’s the execution, or even the follow through, that can make things worse for it. Here are five things that I think would help improve any series from start to finish.

  1. Have A Coherent Story

Having ‘story arcs’ doesn’t cut it for me. It’s like playing videogames; when the series finishes, it means level one has ended. Level two has a different boss and different storyline. Somehow, it’s a bit frustrating because you just see the characters grow and evolve but not have proper character development. In games this can work but in real life series? I don’t think so!

  1. Keep Romances A Side Story

There’s nothing cuter than making love stories a side story for plenty of series out there that focus on an interesting plot development. Love is a natural feeling to develop when you place characters in such dire situations. However, making a big deal out of these relationships for the sake of airtime and fan-service (as the Japanese would call it) is completely outrageous. Keep the sex scenes or just imply them; you don’t have to show them. Just focus on making the story grander and awesome-er.

  1. Include Characters That Are Not Too Well-Known

Hollywood and British Productions are well-known to get B-listed artists for series. How about getting some from theatre or some random person who knows how to act? In this way, people can focus on the story and much less on the actor or actresses’ looks or special physical features. Yes I know it makes for bad corporate reputation and advertising but don’t you think it’s special to show something that’s entirely represented by people who deserve to be in the role? Huh?

  1. Don’t Prolong It Too Much

I know Doctor Who is quite a stretch because it spans decades and it clearly kills opinion number one, but it worked for the series because the developments were interesting and given the theme of Doctor Who focusing on the anomalies of the Universe and a Time Lord correcting them, it became a part of pop culture. But for other series, if you don’t need to lengthen something just to get more airtime or ‘squeeze’ out more from the franchise, don’t do it, please. Do it for the fans.

  1. Be Sure To Have A Plan B

I know plenty of people try to work on something awesome, something they could call their lifetime masterpiece. But consider this: one day your advertisers will not want to sign a contract with you because you don’t want to give in to their demands (of having famous actors/actresses, plotlines appeal to general masses). It is important for networks to know people like me exist. People who believe the story should continue and give the creators their own spin on things or do everything as they intended. That’s what Kickstarters are for guys!

TV Binging: Is It Bad, Is It Good? Is It Something You Never Liked?

11.1.2014 | 16:36

I’ll be honest with you, it’s very troublesome not to turn yourself away from the television screen. Yes, we can always turn to our smartphones and watch or probably do something else entertaining from there.

Everyone feared mass media from the beginning. During the early centuries when AM and FM radios were created, people believed they also contacted souls coming from different realms of the universe. Some people even claimed they could pick up alien signals during that time.

When people created and sold television sets, people believed these to make people dumber. They also believed it was a way to shape popular opinion because of the shows airing from the sets. Well, that is always possible with mass media.

The Internet gave people a platform to be themselves. However, many still believe that it’s a ‘conspiracy trap’, a way for the government to collect names and information, including sensitive personal information, and monitor their peoples accordingly. We don’t have the power to say no because being involved with other peoples’ business and even having a small role in their lives is something… addictive.

So, compared to Internet binging (which I assume many of you are doing now), TV binging is a better option to be precise. However, like many other technological troubles we have today, it is and will definitely make you fat if you don’t do it properly.

Why TV? UK’s TV shows are subscription and pay-per-view based. But if you think about it, it’s like paying your phone line for your data and network subscription. It’s a less-feature tradeoff. But with TV, you don’t get addicted. Instead, your addiction has an ending.

Every TV series has an ending, whereas in social media, you get an endless and slow-playing real-life novella that won’t even get an ending. That’s why people are addicted to smartphones and the Internet; it has no ending.

Surely, it would be better to see some end in sight for your stories. I mean, sure it gives you a rush when you watch your favourite television shows and you wish it wouldn’t end. Without a fitting end though, you only have something that gets tiring and goes on and on until you’re finally sick of it.

Or maybe not. But UK TV shows today are a great escape from today’s harsh reality of dwindling economies and probably hidden and invisible wars just about anywhere. Yep, I won’t talk about details, but it’s dreadful hearing the news when these wars happen somewhere else. Sometimes, you just want to shut off your mind and watch something that not part of your daily and everyday troubles.

That’s when the television comes in. Check the Internet and social media, you still find the same problems. Check your digital world and you’ll find that many people in your circles are in the same situation as you. Just break off. Take a break. Relax and enter your own little world.

Just like my favourite world, Doctor Who!

Those guys in history claiming stuff about televisions were right. It does take your soul to different places. Places that are not necessarily bad at all!